Signal flow/mixing question

jkuehlin

jkuehlin

New member
Guys with large format pro mixers...do you use your aux sends (as in the horizontal row of knobs on the physical desk) for anything other than monitoring? Or do you pretty much let your DAW handle the time, mod, and verb based effects? If so, what do you have patched to through the aux loops?

I have 16 sends on each channel, and the i/o to support it. Seems like a waste not to use them. I don't need a single one for monitoring because the Aviom units handle everything, and can draw the monitor mix from the foldup matrix on the center section.

And do you guys use your onboard flying fader automation, or do you just write it in the DAW? (I have pretty reliable recall on the System 5B).

If anyone has an SSL 9000j, or Harrison, how do you route to the a 5.1, 7.1, or atmos decoder from the aux send? (or do you not even use them at this point?)
 
Sorry, the only way I could afford an SSL 9000J was to buy Reason. Although I love it dearly, I doubt what I'm doing with it is anything like what you want to hear about. I don't know a lot of people here that have the where withal to buy a $75k+ desk...hope you find some answers. :)
 
Well...I don't have 16 sends per channel (my console is just an old-school Trident with 8 Aux sends)...but for mixdowns, I do use the console Aux buses for adding my outboard processing, even though I'm coming out from the DAW to the console.
I may also do processing at the DAW, but not exclusively.

During tracking...yeah, then I'll use the console Aux buses for creating cue/monitor mixes.

Look...it's really about how you like to work and what you need to do that....and not so much about "I have 16 sends and hate to see them sitting there unused". :)
Sometimes you may only need one Aux bus for a mix...it's OK. ;)
 
BroKen_H said:
Sorry, the only way I could afford an SSL 9000J was to buy Reason. Although I love it dearly, I doubt what I'm doing with it is anything like what you want to hear about. I don't know a lot of people here that have the where withal to buy a $75k+ desk...hope you find some answers. :)
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Hi Broken H, valid point. But I found sometimes guys that don't have $75K (or more like $250K in this case) have experience or insight from having worked on someone else SSL, or having freelanced in the studio circuits in Atlanta, NY, LA, Chicago etc...

I know the question may have sounded a bit odd, but as you may know, this is one of the last active audio forums on the internet. Sometimes guys with experience on these things wander through. Its the same with the recording review website...never hurts to ask...right? :D
 
jkuehlin said:
this is one of the last active audio forums on the internet.
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Try Pro Sound Web Forums - R/E/P...or Gearslutz...they're still pretty active, and on there, you'll probably find guys that use SSL consoles.

Here on HR...you might only find some guys who use the SSL Collection plugins.
 
Also try recording.org. Chris, the owner, was big into analog summing though he's now into "decoupled" 2-DAW real-time capture of ITB mixes. It's not the most active forum, with 6 or 10 regulars, but they are more oriented to professional high grade gear. There's a fair chance one of those few contributors has had experience relevant to your setup.
 
Not an SSL, but when I had a hybrid system, I used the aux sends to run to all my outboard effects that I still had from before the DAW. I didn't see any reason to buy a plugin emulation of a PCM 80, when I had an actual PCM 80 sitting 2 feet away...

Then, during tracking I would do the obvious headphone mix thing. The more time went on, and the more budgets started to drop, the more I just stayed in the box. Even if I had a board with recall, it is just so much more efficient to open a session that is exactly the way it was 3 weeks ago, the last time you worked on it.

Even though I could tell the difference in sound between the board mixes and the in the box mixes, eventually efficiency won out. I also never figured out if the mixes sounded different because I interact with the board differently than I do the DAW, or what.
 
I did record THROUGH a 9000j once, but I never touched the thing. No way. If someone would have told me what a U87 cost back then I probably would have been too freaked out to sing. (cue the bad singing jokes) :)
 
miroslav said:
Try Pro Sound Web Forums - R/E/P...or Gearslutz...they're still pretty active, and on there, you'll probably find guys that use SSL consoles.

Here on HR...you might only find some guys who use the SSL Collection plugins.
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Lol...I actually found a bunch of guys on gearslutz who ~say~ they use SSL consoles haha. But upon further inquiry, are actually less help than the people who are honest about not using one, because you can make yourself stupid real fast when you take advice from someone who's talking out of their behind. It was quite pleasant to find that people on here were honest about their experience. Ugh...gearslutz.

In all fairness, the question (excluding the part about the 7.1), would apply to anything...neve, trident, toft, hell...even a mackie I guess.
 
Farview said:
Not an SSL, but when I had a hybrid system, I used the aux sends to run to all my outboard effects that I still had from before the DAW. I didn't see any reason to buy a plugin emulation of a PCM 80, when I had an actual PCM 80 sitting 2 feet away...
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Dude...who made a PCM 80 plugin?? I want one. Were you running it spdif or analog?

Then, during tracking I would do the obvious headphone mix thing. The more time went on, and the more budgets started to drop, the more I just stayed in the box. Even if I had a board with recall, it is just so much more efficient to open a session that is exactly the way it was 3 weeks ago, the last time you worked on it.

Even though I could tell the difference in sound between the board mixes and the in the box mixes, eventually efficiency won out. I also never figured out if the mixes sounded different because I interact with the board differently than I do the DAW, or what.
Click to expand...

For non-film projects, I'm gonna cheat and use a pair of Dangerous summing mixers. But I'll put them at the very end of the digital chain. Those guys are just kind of a set it and forget it if you ask me. But I do like what they do.
 
BroKen_H said:
I did record THROUGH a 9000j once, but I never touched the thing. No way. If someone would have told me what a U87 cost back then I probably would have been too freaked out to sing. (cue the bad singing jokes) :)
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Neither have I. The 9j's seem to be almost exclusively in cinematic orchestral tracking rooms. I wouldn't dare try to mix on one. The SSL 300 seems like such a better fit for cinematic mixing. And the duality for music mixing. Its too bad. Those 9j's are probably gorgeous sounding consoles. I hope some of them stay around long enough to get to work on it some day. I'm sure it would be a lot of fun, but I'd never wanna pony up the cash to own one.
 
To the Op. Nice problem to have.:)
I only have four sends, and they are pretty much tied up for outboard......and not enough return channels available for stereo returns.

So there are those of us that wish we had more.
Hence, Nice problem to have. You have so many you don't know what to do with them all. :D
 
jkuehlin said:
Dude...who made a PCM 80 plugin?? I want one. Were you running it spdif or analog?
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Lexicon has plugins that have everything from the pcm 80 and more in it.
I ran it analog, since the pcm80 ran at 48k and I run at 44.1. Plus, I would use it for the cue mixes. If I really needed it in a mix that was in the box, I would run the track to the board and send it to the pcm80 and just record the pcm80 back in the box.
 
Quote Originally Posted byView Post
jkuehlin said:
Dude...who made a PCM 80 plugin?? I want one.
Click to expand...

miroslav said:
Lexicon made plugs of their hardware...l]
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Well sort of. Go to section 3 here. 3-10 for example. 'Six Voice Chorus (or delays etc) + the reverb shell..
http://rdn.harmanpro.com/product_do...1340215350/PCM80_User_Guide_Rev1_original.pdf
In the plugs you get the reverb shells, like illustrated in various reverb parts in the configurations, and the FX / delay lines in a separate group of plugs. Totally separate things- not even half the routing options in the PCM80.
Dual FX', and 'Pitch' cards etc, add another whole layers of routing and configs.

The native plugs, great. No doubt. (verbs from the 96/92, likely better than the 80/90..?) But nowhere near the depth they gave in the hardware. :)
 
jkuehlin said:
In all fairness, the question (excluding the part about the 7.1), would apply to anything...neve, trident, toft, hell...even a mackie I guess.
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I do most of my work through a 24 channel Tascam M2600 Mk II. I track through it but I mix ITB. The studio is used for recording, rehearsal and occasional live performance (seats about 20). I use the aux sends for reverbs, wedge mixes and headphone mixes. That pretty much uses up all the aux sends, so I'm using a subgroup bus output to feed a delay. I could mix through the board, but that's a pain and ITB sounds better.
 
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